TARC turns slimy composters into profit

Published: Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 5:25 p.m.

Last Modified: Thursday, January 28, 2010 at 5:25 p.m.

At TARC, worms are no longer the gross stuff of childhood songs. In its latest business venture, the non-profit has delved into the eco-friendly world of worm farming. Clients raise the worms and collect the nitrogen-rich fertilizer they produce into “worm tea bags” sold in the TARC Country Store and on their Web site, www.terrebonnearc.org.

“It was kind of strange at first,” said Tina Trosclair, project coordinator of Houma Grown, TARC’s gardening business. “But like anything, it was a learning process.”

Houma Grown employs TARC’s clients, residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in a variety of hands-on horticulture jobs. In addition to the worm farm, Houma Grown cultivates a citrus grove, vegetable garden and raises flowers and plants in the TARC greenhouse. TARC employs over 200 clients from its Houma office in its various businesses.

The worms are grown in a collection of plastic bins in the corner of TARC’s Houma Grown office.

“We needed a rainy day project we could do,” said Mary Lynn Bisland, TARC’s executive director.

Bisland said that TARC managers were sitting around one day brainstorming new business ventures when one employee suggested they go into the worm farming business. Bisland was struck by the idea.

“We wanted to do an eco-project,” Bisland said. “We did a lot of research and read a lot of books. The internet can make you an expert on anything.”

Eventually, they bought their first supply of worms and a “worm factory” composting bin online at Uncle Jim’s Worm Farm, www.unclejimswormfarm.com, Bisland said.

Since the business started in summer, they’ve expanded to thousands of worms breeding and eating in four different composting bins, Trosclair said. The worms, called red wigglers, are popular composting worms that tend to live in shallow, highly-populated worm communities.

The process of raising the worms and harvesting the fertilizer isn’t complicated, but requires patience, TARC officials said. First, TARC employees and clients collect leftover food and food scraps from the TARC restaurant and cafeteria. One pound of red wiggler worms can eat half a pound of food every day.

The TARC clients shred and dampen clumps of newspaper to make bedding for the slimy critters.

“We go through a lot of Houma Couriers,” Trosclair said.

Some dirt is added, and the worms are now happy composters. They’re left to do their business for several months until they’ve eaten through most of the scraps.

The worm’s digestive by-products — or poop, to put it more commonly — is what TARC clients are after. Worms produce some of the most concentrated and nutrient-packed fertilizer around. Worm farmers call them “worm castings.”

Once they worm bins are ready, TARC clients use a sifter to sort out the castings, Trosclair said. They’re bagged and sold as TARC’s Worm Tea Bags that can be steeped in water overnight to create a potent fertilizer for your house plants or garden. They’re available for $2 per tea bag in the TARC Country Store and online.

“They’re great,” Trosclair said. TARC officials have been using the worm fertilizer on their own plants. “They’ll green your plants up. Gardens, flower beds, anything. It’s all natural and organic.”

The worm casings can also be tilled into soil to loosen it and help make it more fertile, Trosclair said.

About 12 TARC clients help with the worm farm, Bisland said. Eventually, they may expand the business into a larger commercial venue in their greenhouse, growing the worms to sell as bait.

“For now we’re taking it one day at a time,” Bisland said. “It’s a simple but productive venture, and our goal is always to provide revenue and jobs for our clients.”

TARC clients Elliot Cotton and Liz Blanchard, who worked creating newspaper bedding for the worm bins Thursday, said they enjoy working with the worms.

Cotton didn’t hesitate to grab one of the squirming red wigglers to show off.

<p>HOUMA — Long, thin, slimy ones, short, fat, juicy ones, oh how they wiggle and squirm. </p><p>At TARC, worms are no longer the gross stuff of childhood songs. In its latest business venture, the non-profit has delved into the eco-friendly world of worm farming. Clients raise the worms and collect the nitrogen-rich fertilizer they produce into “worm tea bags” sold in the TARC Country Store and on their Web site, www.terrebonnearc.org.</p><p>“It was kind of strange at first,” said Tina Trosclair, project coordinator of Houma Grown, TARC's gardening business. “But like anything, it was a learning process.”</p><p>Houma Grown employs TARC's clients, residents with intellectual and developmental disabilities, in a variety of hands-on horticulture jobs. In addition to the worm farm, Houma Grown cultivates a citrus grove, vegetable garden and raises flowers and plants in the TARC greenhouse. TARC employs over 200 clients from its Houma office in its various businesses.</p><p>The worms are grown in a collection of plastic bins in the corner of TARC's Houma Grown office. </p><p>“We needed a rainy day project we could do,” said Mary Lynn Bisland, TARC's executive director.</p><p>Bisland said that TARC managers were sitting around one day brainstorming new business ventures when one employee suggested they go into the worm farming business. Bisland was struck by the idea.</p><p>“We wanted to do an eco-project,” Bisland said. “We did a lot of research and read a lot of books. The internet can make you an expert on anything.”</p><p>Eventually, they bought their first supply of worms and a “worm factory” composting bin online at Uncle Jim's Worm Farm, www.unclejimswormfarm.com, Bisland said.</p><p>Since the business started in summer, they've expanded to thousands of worms breeding and eating in four different composting bins, Trosclair said. The worms, called red wigglers, are popular composting worms that tend to live in shallow, highly-populated worm communities.</p><p>The process of raising the worms and harvesting the fertilizer isn't complicated, but requires patience, TARC officials said. First, TARC employees and clients collect leftover food and food scraps from the TARC restaurant and cafeteria. One pound of red wiggler worms can eat half a pound of food every day.</p><p>The TARC clients shred and dampen clumps of newspaper to make bedding for the slimy critters.</p><p>“We go through a lot of Houma Couriers,” Trosclair said.</p><p>Some dirt is added, and the worms are now happy composters. They're left to do their business for several months until they've eaten through most of the scraps.</p><p>The worm's digestive by-products — or poop, to put it more commonly — is what TARC clients are after. Worms produce some of the most concentrated and nutrient-packed fertilizer around. Worm farmers call them “worm castings.”</p><p>Once they worm bins are ready, TARC clients use a sifter to sort out the castings, Trosclair said. They're bagged and sold as TARC's Worm Tea Bags that can be steeped in water overnight to create a potent fertilizer for your house plants or garden. They're available for $2 per tea bag in the TARC Country Store and online.</p><p>“They're great,” Trosclair said. TARC officials have been using the worm fertilizer on their own plants. “They'll green your plants up. Gardens, flower beds, anything. It's all natural and organic.”</p><p>The worm casings can also be tilled into soil to loosen it and help make it more fertile, Trosclair said.</p><p>About 12 TARC clients help with the worm farm, Bisland said. Eventually, they may expand the business into a larger commercial venue in their greenhouse, growing the worms to sell as bait.</p><p>“For now we're taking it one day at a time,” Bisland said. “It's a simple but productive venture, and our goal is always to provide revenue and jobs for our clients.”</p><p>TARC clients Elliot Cotton and Liz Blanchard, who worked creating newspaper bedding for the worm bins Thursday, said they enjoy working with the worms.</p><p>Cotton didn't hesitate to grab one of the squirming red wigglers to show off.</p><p>“They're great,” he said.</p>